January 27, 2008

Everyday Things Can Be Both Pretty and Functional

There are so many everyday things (and experiences) that are so poorly designed as if no thoughts were put into them. I can easily name a dozen. Top o fmy mind includes bathtub, radiator, air conditioner microwave oven, tea maker, DVD players, home audio systems and super ugly home PCs. Obviously there are some exceptions. I can think of two brilliant designs for bathtub and radiator.

The Dutch Tub is definitely one of those ingenious ideas where you wonder, ”Why didn’t someone thought of this before?” It’s a bit like an old-fashioned wood fired hot tub, but it uses a bit more advanced coiling system to heat up the water. In addition, it’s also a barbeque complete with a wok that sits on top The tub is relatively light, which means higher portability. You can move them around easily.

Danish designer Anna Gotha has designed an attractive heating installation that you can actually take to bed with you, or bring with you to sit in an outdoor café. She was asking the questions “Why is it not possible to make more use of the heat from a radiator?” Her answer to this question was by designing a radiator with multiple functions. Existing radiators take up too much room and the design is often conservative and ugly. With the new radiator, Gotha has made use of the heat, and at the same time given the user a more functional and elegant design.

She called this Modulo, and it is a new way of exploiting the heat. You can add or remove modules as desired and hide them in your wardrobe drawers when you want to repaint, or when you just want to use the floor space as optimally as possible. But the radiator has more to offer. The modules are designed with an upholstered aluminum core that gives you the opportunity to use the installation as a piece of furniture to lean up against. Also, the core is warmed up by the radiator and therefore you can take it with you to bed, or even to the shopping mall.

We need more designers that can combine technique with aesthetics and at the same time create a design that to a greater extent emphasizing modularity and the possibility of variations. The result is an aesthetic radiator with multiple functions and a design that can be adjusted to the individual and fit in with different design environment. May by they should be selling this in the Apple stores.

Anoher interesting design is P-Per Mobile phone by Chocolate Agency. It explores the many possibilities of sustainable design. It is made of only four layers, with one being an e-paper screen that wraps the entire handset. The high sustainability of P-Per lies in its corestructure: it is designed to follow the rule of “one function–one part–one material”. P-Per is made out entirely of sustainable materials, such as extruded polycarbonate to cope with its physical functions (body, screen protection, unique click); hypoallergenic and recyclable titanium parts; the e-paper screen to display images with no distortions, and without the need of power supply; and an Organic Radical battery that is free from heavy metals. It also allows user sto warp the phone with the their personal pictures. It has a screen located on each of its two sides – mobile phone and messaging functions are displayed on one, and a camera (with a panoramic wrapped viewfinder) is displayed on the other. Its design incorporates a big screen, a haptic touch-screen, and a menu-less intuitive user interface with a rotating-screen function and a simple bar for quick access to all functions. Would you still prefer the iPhone?

If you are an Apple addict, here's something for you. An iPring h awith wireless Bluetooth connectivity with your iPod and iPhone, designed by Victor Soto, it allows you to control playback and volume on any of your Apple media devices. You won't catch me wearing one.

Comments

Everyday Things Can Be Both Pretty and Functional

There are so many everyday things (and experiences) that are so poorly designed as if no thoughts were put into them. I can easily name a dozen. Top o fmy mind includes bathtub, radiator, air conditioner microwave oven, tea maker, DVD players, home audio systems and super ugly home PCs. Obviously there are some exceptions. I can think of two brilliant designs for bathtub and radiator.

The Dutch Tub is definitely one of those ingenious ideas where you wonder, ”Why didn’t someone thought of this before?” It’s a bit like an old-fashioned wood fired hot tub, but it uses a bit more advanced coiling system to heat up the water. In addition, it’s also a barbeque complete with a wok that sits on top The tub is relatively light, which means higher portability. You can move them around easily.

Danish designer Anna Gotha has designed an attractive heating installation that you can actually take to bed with you, or bring with you to sit in an outdoor café. She was asking the questions “Why is it not possible to make more use of the heat from a radiator?” Her answer to this question was by designing a radiator with multiple functions. Existing radiators take up too much room and the design is often conservative and ugly. With the new radiator, Gotha has made use of the heat, and at the same time given the user a more functional and elegant design.

She called this Modulo, and it is a new way of exploiting the heat. You can add or remove modules as desired and hide them in your wardrobe drawers when you want to repaint, or when you just want to use the floor space as optimally as possible. But the radiator has more to offer. The modules are designed with an upholstered aluminum core that gives you the opportunity to use the installation as a piece of furniture to lean up against. Also, the core is warmed up by the radiator and therefore you can take it with you to bed, or even to the shopping mall.

We need more designers that can combine technique with aesthetics and at the same time create a design that to a greater extent emphasizing modularity and the possibility of variations. The result is an aesthetic radiator with multiple functions and a design that can be adjusted to the individual and fit in with different design environment. May by they should be selling this in the Apple stores.

Anoher interesting design is P-Per Mobile phone by Chocolate Agency. It explores the many possibilities of sustainable design. It is made of only four layers, with one being an e-paper screen that wraps the entire handset. The high sustainability of P-Per lies in its corestructure: it is designed to follow the rule of “one function–one part–one material”. P-Per is made out entirely of sustainable materials, such as extruded polycarbonate to cope with its physical functions (body, screen protection, unique click); hypoallergenic and recyclable titanium parts; the e-paper screen to display images with no distortions, and without the need of power supply; and an Organic Radical battery that is free from heavy metals. It also allows user sto warp the phone with the their personal pictures. It has a screen located on each of its two sides – mobile phone and messaging functions are displayed on one, and a camera (with a panoramic wrapped viewfinder) is displayed on the other. Its design incorporates a big screen, a haptic touch-screen, and a menu-less intuitive user interface with a rotating-screen function and a simple bar for quick access to all functions. Would you still prefer the iPhone?

If you are an Apple addict, here's something for you. An iPring h awith wireless Bluetooth connectivity with your iPod and iPhone, designed by Victor Soto, it allows you to control playback and volume on any of your Apple media devices. You won't catch me wearing one.